Poland may struggle to make full use of its F-16 fleet because pilot staffing trails its 47 aircraft, Rzeczpospolita reported Monday, citing an unofficial estimate of about 40 trained pilots.
The newspaper said its estimate came from two independent sources. Poland's Defense Ministry has not publicly confirmed the count. In a March 11 response to Parliament, the ministry said the numbers of trained pilots and instructors are classified.
Rzeczpospolita reported that a minimum ratio of 1.5 pilots per aircraft implies at least 70 pilots for the fleet. The 47-aircraft count is separate from the classified staffing figures.
The newspaper said the training system in Dęblin produces only a few jet pilots each year, citing a source familiar with the process. It also identified trainee attrition, medical eligibility requirements and limited U.S. training slots as obstacles to building the pilot pool.
Grzegorz Kade, director of the Military Institute of Aviation Medicine, said it takes two years to prepare a pilot whom the military can trust to fly an F-16. He estimated the cost of training an F-16 pilot at about $5.18 million.
The transition to F-35s is drawing on experienced pilots, according to Rzeczpospolita. The newspaper estimated that at least several, and probably around a dozen, of the 24 Polish pilots slated for F-35 training in the United States had moved from F-16s.
The paper said Poland had about 70 F-16 pilots several years ago and filled about 90% of its pilot posts in 2018. Gen. Ireneusz Nowak warned in 2022 that moving F-16 pilots to F-35s would create a training gap, it reported.
Rzeczpospolita assessed that the shortage could leave some spending on aircraft and upgrades underused. Poland's F-16 modernization is planned for 2028 through 2038, according to the newspaper.
